Southeast Asia and South Pacific Air Passes Offer Substantial Savings

If you’re going to Southeast Asia or the South Pacific, there are a number of air passes to consider.

With Garuda Indonesia’s Visit Indonesia Air Pass, which is being resumed this year after a two-year absence, travelers have a choice of four cities to visit in 20 days for $350, eight cities in 30 days for $500 or 12 cities in 60 days for $600. Savings through the pass can hit about $370, $720 and $730, respectively, depending on days and number of cities selected.

The pass must be purchased in the United States and travelers must fly to Indonesia on Garuda Indonesia. Among cities on the carrier’s route system are Jakarta on the island of Java; Denpasar on Bali; Medan and Padang, Sumatra; and Pontianak and Balikpapan, Borneo.

Air Niugini has introduced a Visit Papua New Guinea Air Pass that offers four one-way flights throughout Papua New Guinea for $299. The pass must be bought in the United States through the airline, which also serves as the tourist office for Papua New Guinea. In addition, you have to fly to and from Papua New Guinea on the carrier.

Among the cities served are the capital city of Port Moresby, Popondetta, Madang, Tari and Rabaul.

Air Pacific offers a Pacific Air Pass around the Fiji Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides) and Western Samoa. There are two versions, both of which allow travelers to begin using the pass at Suva, ending in Nadi, or vice versa. For $499, travelers can visit Vila, capital of Vanuatu; Naku’alofa, Tonga; and Apia, Western Samoa. The tab is $549 if you also visit Honiara in the Solomon Islands.

The pass provides savings of about 50% over what point-to-point fares would cost. Travelers can make only one stop at each destination, with the pass good for 30 days after the first flight. The pass has to be purchased in the United States in conjunction with flights to Fiji, but travelers may fly to Fiji on any carrier.

Polynesian Airlines has a Polypass for $999 that covers travel within seven South Pacific destinations: American Samoa, Western Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. Use of the pass is virtually unlimited during any 30-day period. One restriction is that travelers get one round-trip each to Sydney/Brisbane, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand.

Travelers may start using the pass from eight cities in the carrier’s system. The pass, which offers considerable savings over point-to-point fares, must be purchased in the United States.

Air passes are worth the price if you intend to visit many places. If you only expect to stop at a few destinations, you may do better buying tickets point to point.

Contact travel agents or Air Niugini at (714) 752-5440, Air Pacific at (213) 417-2236, Garuda Indonesia at (800) 342-7832 or Polynesian Airlines (represented by Ansett Airlines) at (800) 366-1300.